This invention is an improvement over that set forth in my copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 441,080 filed on Feb. 11, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,229 and assigned to the same assignee. The invention set forth in that patent application is seating apparatus which is convertible from a seat orientation into a bed orientation. The advantages of that invention are retained in the subject invention while enabling the seating apparatus of the subject invention to be reversible between a forward facing and a rearward facing seating arrangement. This is especially useful in a mobile home or camper vehicle so that the same space may be used for passenger seating, sleeping and dining.
It has been known heretofore to provide vehicles with passenger seats which may be changed from forward facing to rearward facing arrangements. This changeability of seating apparatus has been found useful, for example, in vehicle seating where a forward seat is changed from forward facing to rearward facing so that the occupants may be face to face with occupants of a rearward seat. Such an arrangement is convenient for game playing, dining and the like. It is also common knowledge that vehicles may be provided with seating apparatus which is convertible to a bed orientation. However, the prior art leaves much to be desired with respect to the mechanisms by which these conversions are effected; the prior art has been especially deficient with respect to converting seating apparatus between forward and rearward facing orientations and bed orientations.
It is desired therefore to provide vehicle seating apparatus which can be converted from a seat orientation, either forward or rearward facing, to a bed orientation; further, such conversion should be effectuated by simple manual manipulation. The vehicle seating apparatus, whether oriented as a forward facing or rearward facing seat or oriented as a bed, should provide comfort and convenience which is undiminished by the feature of convertibility.
In the prior art it has been proposed to provide vehicle seating apparatus wherein a front seat may be changed from forward facing to rearward facing and to provide for folding the seat back to a prone position for a bed arrangement. This general combination is shown in the Willson U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,374; however the conversion of the seat structure from one orientation to another requires a great deal of mechanical operation and furthermore the basic seat design is unsuitable for current vehicular usage. Another example of prior art seat apparatus intended for providing a forward or rearward facing seat and being convertible for bed use is shown in the Koziol U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,981. This patent discloses a pair of bench-type seats, each having removable back members which may be removed and placed in a prone position for bed use or one of the backs may be removed and reinstalled in a reverse position to form two facing seats.
The prior art has yielded a large number of reversible car seats intended for use in railroad cars or automotive vehicles of various types. These prior art reversible seats may be characterized as being unduly difficult to manipulate and as having greatly compromised a design of the seat or bed in respect to comfort and suitability for vehicle use. An early example of such a reversible car seat is shown in Rideout U.S. Pat. No. 870,385. This patent discloses a seat having a seat back and seat bottom which are interchanged through actuation of a bell-crank lever in order to change the seat from forward facing to rearward facing. A similar arrangement is shown in the Wheatley U.S. Pat. No. 1,051,040 and in the Bugatti U.S. Pat. No 2,004,850. These examples of the prior art regarding reversible seats make no provision for conversion from a seating arrangement to a bed arrangement.
The prior art has failed to produce seating apparatus adapted to be converted from forward facing to rearward facing seat orientation or to a bed orientation while providing attributes of good seat design, such as seat bottom rake, seat cushion overlap relationship and seat bottom fore and aft dimension, along with good bed design including flat surfaces and the absence of a high hinge pivot.